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Week of May 21, 2018

New in Paperback

Week of May 21, 2018

Paperback releases for the week of May 21st include LESS by Andrew Sean Greer, the winner of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, in which a struggling novelist travels the world to avoid an awkward wedding; the psychological thriller THE BREAKDOWN, B. A. Paris' follow-up to her debut, the instant New York Times bestseller BEHIND CLOSED DOORS, which poses the intriguing question: If you can’t trust yourself, who can you trust?; and THE JERSEY BROTHERS by Sally Mott Freeman, which details the extraordinary adventure of three brothers at the center of the most dramatic turning points of World War II.

Cass is having a hard time since the night she saw the car in the woods, on the winding rural road, in the middle of a downpour, with the woman sitting inside --- the woman who was killed. She’s been trying to put the crime out of her mind; what could she have done, really? It’s a dangerous road to be on in the middle of a storm. Her husband would be furious if he knew she’d broken her promise not to take that shortcut home. And she probably would only have been hurt herself if she’d stopped. She just can’t forget that woman, the woman she might have saved, and the terrible nagging guilt. Or the silent calls she’s receiving, or the feeling that someone’s watching her.

Cady Davenport is in a new city, with a new job and even a new fiancé. But when her husband-to-be hits the road for the upcoming presidential election, Cady realizes she’s on her own --- and that her dream life might not be all she’d imagined. Until she finds herself thrust straight into the heart of the most influential inner circle in Washington, DC: the campaign widows. As friends, they’re an unlikely group, but they share one undeniable bond: their spouses are all out on the trail during a hotly contested election season.

Lawyer Andy Carpenter’s true passion is the Tara Foundation, the dog rescue organization he runs with his friend, Willie Miller. All kinds of dogs make their way to the foundation, and it isn’t that surprising to find a dog abandoned at the shelter one morning, though it was accompanied by a mysterious anonymous note. But they are quite surprised when they scan the dog’s embedded chip and discover that he is the “DNA dog,” which helps renew the search for a missing child. Goaded by his wife’s desire to help a friend and fellow mother, and Andy’s desire to make sure the real kidnapper is in jail, Andy and his team enter the case. But what they start to uncover is far more complicated and dangerous than they ever expected.

In 1990, Dr. Rock Positano, a 32-year-old foot and ankle specialist, met Joe DiMaggio. Despite the 40 years between them, an unlikely friendship developed after the doctor successfully treated the baseball champ’s heel spur injury. Joe mentored Rock but came to rely on his young friend to show him a good time in New York, the town that made him a legend. In time, the famously reserved DiMaggio opened up to Dr. Positano and talked about his joys, his disappointments and his sorrows as he reflected on his extraordinary life. The stories and experiences he shared with Dr. Positano comprise an intimate portrait of one of the great stars of baseball and icon of the 20th century.

Growing up in rural El Salvador in the wake of the civil war, the United States was a distant fantasy to identical twins Ernesto and Raul Flores --- until, at age 17, a deadly threat from the region’s brutal gangs forces them to flee the only home they’ve ever known. Journalist Lauren Markham follows the Flores twins as they make their way across the Rio Grande and the Texas desert, into the hands of immigration authorities, and from there to their estranged older brother in Oakland, CA. Soon these unaccompanied minors are navigating school in a new language, working to pay down their mounting coyote debt, and facing their day in immigration court, while also encountering the triumphs and pitfalls of teenage life with only each other for support.

The North Korean army invades South Korea in June 1950, intent on uniting the country under Communist rule. In response, the United States mobilizes a force to defend the overmatched South Korean troops, and together they drive the North Koreans back to their border with China. But several hundred thousand Chinese troops have entered Korea, laying massive traps for the Allies. In November 1950, the Chinese spring those traps. Allied forces, already battling stunningly cold weather, find themselves caught completely off guard as the Chinese advance around the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea. A force that once stood on the precipice of victory now finds itself on the brink of annihilation.

Natalie Falcone gets a phone call every mother dreads: It’s from a hospital emergency room in the town where her daughter, Arden, attends college. Arden has been in a fire, along with Natalie’s niece, Rory --- her estranged brother-in-law's daughter and Arden’s best friend. Natalie rushes to the hospital and learns that both Arden and Rory lie unconscious, and that another student has died in the blaze. The case unearths a portrait of a complex friendship, a love triangle, a fight, and a girl who was struggling more than anyone realized.

Cheyenne Florian is recruited to be the new correspondent on the Independent News Network (INN), which has branded itself as innovative. But when Cheyenne joins the INN team, she finds age-old dynamics in play. Some of the female staff resent her meteoric rise, while a number of the men are only too happy to welcome her. Then there’s the diary left for her anonymously, written in 1991 by a female broadcaster. The mysterious diary is accompanied by a note, urging Cheyenne to learn from the past. She wants to believe it’s intended as inspiration and friendly advice, or, at most, a warning. But as disturbing --- and increasingly dangerous --- parallels begin to emerge, she starts to wonder if something more sinister is at work.

Three brothers, all Navy men, end up coincidentally and extraordinarily at the epicenter of three of the most crucial moments of World War II. Bill is picked by Roosevelt to run his first Map Room in Washington. Benny is the gunnery and anti-aircraft officer on the USS Enterprise, one of the only carriers to escape Pearl Harbor and the last one left in the Pacific to defend against the Japanese. Barton, the youngest and least distinguished of the three, is shuffled off to the Navy Supply Corps because his mother wants him out of harm’s way. But this protection plan backfires when Barton is sent to the Philippines and listed as missing-in-action after a Japanese attack. Now it is up to Bill and Benny to find and rescue him.

You are a failed novelist about to turn 50. A wedding invitation arrives in the mail: your boyfriend of the past nine years is engaged to someone else. You can't say yes --- it would be too awkward. And you can't say no --- it would look like defeat. On your desk are a series of invitations to half-baked literary events around the world. How do you arrange to skip town? You accept them all. Arthur Less will almost fall in love in Paris, almost fall to his death in Berlin, barely escape to a Moroccan ski chalet from a Saharan sandstorm, accidentally book himself as the (only) writer-in-residence at a Christian Retreat Center in Southern India, and encounter, on a desert island in the Arabian Sea, the last person on Earth he wants to face.

Thaddeus Kaufman and Grace Cornell meet at a neighborhood art fair in Chicago, and head to New York soon after. Jennings Stratton and Muriel Sanchez meet in a house he is refurbishing in New Mexico, and they, too, head for the big city. In a vast Hudson River estate, the lives of the two couples ultimately intertwine. Thaddeus has made it big in an unexpected way, setting off a chain reaction of envy among his friends and peers and forever changing the dynamic of his marriage with Grace. And Jennings, hoping to transcend his reputation as the local Casanova, has ventured into a cycle of theft and betrayal that threatens to destroy the fragile life of his family.

Hubert Vernon Rudolph Clayton Irving Wilson Alva Anton Jeff Harley Timothy Curtis Cleveland Cecil Ollie Edmund Eli Wiley Marvin Ellis Espinoza --- known to his friends as Hubert, Etc --- was too old to be at that Communist party. But after watching the breakdown of modern society, he really has no where left to be --- except amongst the dregs of disaffected youth who party all night and heap scorn on the sheep they see on the morning commute. After falling in with Natalie, an ultra-rich heiress trying to escape the clutches of her repressive father, the two decide to give up fully on formal society --- and walk away.

Vote in Our Poll

The upcoming PBS series “The Great American Read” will focus on America’s 100 best-loved novels. Viewers can vote for their favorites, and the top best-loved novel will be revealed in October. Are you planning to watch this series and vote?

Word of Mouth

Tell us about the books you’ve finished reading with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars. During the contest period from May 11th to May 25th at noon ET, three lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win a copy of THE MAP OF SALT AND STARS by Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar and THE PERFECT MOTHER by Aimee Molloy.

Sounding Off on Audio

Tell us about the audiobooks you’ve finished listening to with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars for both the performance and the content. During the contest period from May 1st to June 4th at noon ET, two lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win the audio versions of Ruth Ware's THE DEATH OF MRS. WESTAWAY, read by Imogen Church, and Stephen King's THE OUTSIDER, read by Will Patton.

Bookreporter.com Bets On

Books On Screen

May's Books on Screen roundup includes the feature films On Chesil Beach and The Seagull; the series premiere of "Sweetbitter" on Starz and season two of "13 Reasons Why" on Netflix, along with the season finale of "Rise" on NBC; and the DVD releases of Fifty Shades Freed, Wonderstruck and 12 Strong.